William Lewin
The Birds of Great-Britain with their Eggs, 1789-1794, 7 volumes in 3
Found at
Sothebys,
London
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 135
6. May - 18. May 2022
The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I, Lot 135
6. May - 18. May 2022
Estimate: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Price realised: XX.XXX
Description
William Lewin
The Birds of Great Britain with their Eggs. London: printed for the author; and sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794
7 volumes in 3, 4to (312 x 258 mm.), dedication leaf, 323 hand-coloured watercolour and gouache drawings of birds (271) and eggs (52), index at end of volume 7, nineteenth-century tree calf, spines gilt in six compartments, original morocco letter-pieces, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt, small tears to Plate 21, Volume 1 and Plate 169, Volume 5 (not affecting illustrations), rebacked, extremities slightly rubbed
One of only sixty sets illustrated entirely with gouache drawings by Lewin, and as such unique among bird books. The vast energy required for the production of sixty sets each comprising 323 drawings (nearly twenty thousand individual pictures in all) establishes The Birds of Great Britain as a singular monument in English ornithology.
Lewin's birds are depicted in much livelier attitudes than the birds of earlier artists, as he drew chiefly from life rather than relying on specimens.
LITERATURE:
Anker 306; Fine Bird Books, p. 91; McGill/Wood, p. 435; Nissen IVB 562; Zimmer, p. 395
The Birds of Great Britain with their Eggs. London: printed for the author; and sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794
7 volumes in 3, 4to (312 x 258 mm.), dedication leaf, 323 hand-coloured watercolour and gouache drawings of birds (271) and eggs (52), index at end of volume 7, nineteenth-century tree calf, spines gilt in six compartments, original morocco letter-pieces, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt, small tears to Plate 21, Volume 1 and Plate 169, Volume 5 (not affecting illustrations), rebacked, extremities slightly rubbed
One of only sixty sets illustrated entirely with gouache drawings by Lewin, and as such unique among bird books. The vast energy required for the production of sixty sets each comprising 323 drawings (nearly twenty thousand individual pictures in all) establishes The Birds of Great Britain as a singular monument in English ornithology.
Lewin's birds are depicted in much livelier attitudes than the birds of earlier artists, as he drew chiefly from life rather than relying on specimens.
LITERATURE:
Anker 306; Fine Bird Books, p. 91; McGill/Wood, p. 435; Nissen IVB 562; Zimmer, p. 395
Artwork auctioned at three times the upper estimate price
The work The Birds of Great-Britain with their Eggs, 1789-1794, 7 volumes in 3 by William Lewin was worth GBP 50,400.00 (€ 59,290.80) to a buyer in May last year. This price was achieved in the auction The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I at Sothebys in London and exceeded the previously set upper estimate of GBP 15,000.00 many times over. Despite this good result, it is not the highest hammer price for an artwork by William Lewin; that achieved among the auctions we observed the lot The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of sold at auction in November 2000 with the realized price of GBP 41,125.00 (€ 67,217
Kunstwerk zum Dreifachen des oberen Schätzpreises versteigert
Die Arbeit The Birds of Great-Britain with their Eggs, 1789-1794, 7 volumes in 3 von William Lewin war einem Käufer im Mai letzten Jahres GBP 50.400,00 (€ 59.290,80) wert. Dieser Preise wurde in der Auktion The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven Part I bei Sothebys in London erzielt und übertraf den zuvor angesetzten oberen Schätzpreis von GBP 15.000,00 um ein Vielfaches. Trotz des guten Ergebnisses ist dies nicht der höchste Zuschlag für ein Kunstwerk von William Lewin; den erzielte unter den von uns beobachteten Auktionen die Arbeit The Birds of Great Britain, with their eggs, accurately figured. London: for the author, sold by Leigh and Sotheby, 1789-1794. 7 volumes, large 4° (335 x 258mm). 322 Original body-colour paintings by Lewin, occasionally heightened with gum-arabic, 270 of im November 2000 mit dem Hammerpreis von GBP 41.125,00 (€ 67.217,19).
William Lewin - Auction history
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